But that star-studded history has also sent the Houston audience's expectation bar to the moon — so much so that when Bridges was announced earlier this month, it landed with a head-scratching thud in some circles.

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Leon Bridges? Blacks only get one night out of 20 performances for the entire rodeo. A popular entertainer should have been selected. I will not be in attendance at black heritage night this year. This will be the first time I have missed in 10 years. @RODEOHOUSTON#disappointed

For the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show’s Black Heritage Night, past acts have been Mary J. Blige, Usher, John Legend. Last year was Jason Derulo. This year will be somebody named Leon Bridges. They don’t want US to come. #HLSR

The TV station KPRC ran a story headlined, "Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Black Heritage Day disappointment," sourced mostly from an interview with radio personalities from 97.9 The Box, "Houston's Rhythmic Hip Hop radio station."

What's unfolded is a dumbfounding social media debate where many black music fans find themselves in the "We want a more prominent artist than Leon Bridges for Black Heritage Day" camp, while at least one high-profile Bridges-backer used language some called racist in support of the Fort Worth kid.

But there's at least one more layer to the whole thing. Bridges admitted to Texas Monthly in November that his first high-profile show in front of a predominantly black audience, the 2016 Roots Picnic, didn't go so well.

"I had my shot when I played the Roots Picnic. It's a predominantly black, predominantly hip-hop festival," Bridges told the magazine. "My people. And I was excited to play for my people, but I didn't get the same reaction that I did when I played to a white crowd. I felt like it didn't work."

Bridges also hasn't been shy about addressing the more recent dust-up on his own social media channels.

Officials at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo would not comment on the episode or on whether they would one day like to lure Bridges to his hometown rodeo stage. For the record, the Roadhouse stage next to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum hasn't been around near as long as its Houston counterpart, nor does it attract the big-name talent that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo does.

But genre would clearly not be an issue, if it were to ever come up. A group called Memphis Soul played on Jan. 15, and blues man Charley Crockett is playing after the second rodeo performance Saturday.

Is it possible that black music fans just don't identify with Bridges' retro sound?

Oh trust me. I’m just as ticked as you are. The thing that gets me, is that the majority of the people saying they like LB and going to see him, is white people. No black person that I have seen, has a God-given clue who he is. It seems very sketch to me